Tis’ The Season
With the weather reflecting the likes of Spring incredibly early this year, Amodei managed to photograph his new/temporary XXR wheel set up. The phrase ‘needs more low” does not apply.
FRENCH
Vacation
This past weekend I had the luxury of taking a short 3 day cruise to the Bahamas with the family.. After returning we met up with some family in Coral Springs, Florida.. I then get a message from Sheldon saying he lives 10 minutes away.. This lead to us meeting up and me snapping a few photos of his nicely put together AP1… Enjoy!
Full set can be found HERE!!!!
-Chris Amodei-
Full set can be found HERE!!!!!!
On the daily.
So you made it.. You worked hard, hustled when you needed to, developed connections and now find yourself in the market for a daily driver with some class. The problem is you’re not over your childhood realm of modifying cars, because you’ll never be, because you’re a true enthusiast and you’ll never stray regardless of the awful investment it may be. Driving a “normal” car isn’t possible for you anymore and in fact it never was. As long as you can remember, even before you purchased your first car, you were playing video games, sitting on forums and creating the image of the future you intended for yourself. The difficulty in this however is being able to separate something that would be viewed as “unprofessional” and what you “want” to drive. This is typically the reason why people buy daily drivers. You designate different responsibilities for different vehicles so that you can have the loud, fast, harsh riding weekend warrior as well as a another vehicle that can be used every day in any situation without potentially embarrassing you in front of clients. But should your daily be a boring, stock car that blends with all the other personality-less automobiles that we see every day? I hardly think so. So what would be the perfect daily driver if I was to have my pick? I can’t say for sure but this BMW 7series, which was revamped by ADV1, is an incredible place to start.
Photo’s by: WILLIAM STERN PHOTOGRAHPY
_Matt Henderson
H20i featuring Scraped.Crusaders.
Although the weekend was filled with rain, thousands still traveled down(and up) to Ocean City, Maryland for one of the biggest VW shows on the East Coast. I met a lot of new people and had the chance to see some old friends. I got the opportunity to meet some of the guys from Scraped.Crusaders. Having been a fan of Gill’s Legacy for some time now, it was exciting to finally see it in person. If you haven’t already, you will definitely be seeing Matt’s, who goes by DeathLens on Flickr, photos floating around the net. He put together an impromptu shoot on our last night down there to really give the event a nice closing. Here is the result…
brian | arthus
Check out DeathLens’ Flickr HERE.
http://scrapedcrusaders.com/
One Deadly Snake
If you know me you know I’m probably the biggest Underground Racing fan around. A UGR built Gallardo is one car that’s a must own for me, not only because they’re untouchable on the streets but because they look so good doing it. My good friend, Nick, is a viper guy. A little while back he got rid of his 03 cobra and hopped into an 05 Gen III convertible. It was a gorgeous car but unfortunately for him, it didn’t last long. An accident claimed the life of his prized possession just 8 days after he picked it up and bummed, was the simplest way to describe his mood. Now however he’s back, with an insurance check, and on the prowl for another one. So why not combine one of the elite exotic shops, Underground Racing, and an even better Gen IV ACR!? Probably because it would cost and arm and a leg and being that Nick is only 21, the funds don’t exist to do so. Regardless I wish him the best of luck finding a new toy! Even if it doesn’t make a heat soaked 1300whp like this stunning devil of a car. Enjoy.
-spilner
Little Devil…
When it comes down to it, the world of modifying cars is somewhat of a boys club. We spend our hard-earned dollars on those parts that will give us that edge over the next guy. Coilovers, wheels, exhaust. You know the deal. Every once in a while you come across a female that shares that mentality. It’s especially exciting when you have the pleasure of meeting a lady that has a great project to show for it.
Meet Ashley Rowland and her 2005 Mini Cooper S. The Mini was picked up earlier this year with the intention of building something new. Having previously owned a Mk4 GTI on coils and RS’s, she wanted to get out of the VW world. It all started with a 15% reduction pulley for the supercharger to add the little extra on the daily drive. The next step was a natural one. Suspension and some new shoes.
Replacing the stock springs and struts would be a set of BC Racing coilovers. After the initial install and some tweaking she realized that the stock front coilover springs were a bit too tall for her intentions. A new shorter set was ordered and installed as soon as they arrived. Now that the ride height had been sorted, a set of wheels was in order.
Using some Adaptec Speedware, Ashley fitted some 16×8.5 C4 Corvette Salad Shooters with a 205/40 Falken 512 tire for a nice stretch. The simple fact that Minis can pull off 16’s is something that I envy. The Vette wheels make for a great example. The static ride height speaks for itself and the fitment is on point.
This is only the beginning for this car. I look forward to seeing what is next to come. Ashley has already attacked the interior with some suede on the headliner and pillars. I’m sure she already has a new set of wheels in mind. Look out for this thing down at H20i. It’s a whole other experience in person.
Check out the full set HERE.
-Brian Arthus
New roller’s!!
Once again I switched up my wheel setup… I found myself not being able to hold onto a set of wheels for longer than a month to a month and a half… Sure I sold my Work XD-9′s and picked up a set of replica’s (Varrstoen’s), but truthfully…. I was totally over the look of my car with the Work’s on it, so I bought an affordable, more aggressive wheel.. Spilner has not stopped breaking my balls about it, hopefully he stops soon, but knowing him… he probably wont.
The rest of the photo’s can be found here!!!!
-Chris Amodei-
Connect!
One thing that continues to surprise me about this scene is the way fellow tuners always manage to find each other regardless of their environment. Whether it’s deciding to park your car on the upper level of your schools parking garage in an effort to avoid door dings only to get there and find a half dozen other enthusiasts already parked, or simply running into a group of cars during a random evening cruise you took to clear your head, there always seems to be some sort of magnetic connection that unites us. The car I’m about to share with you was shot by one of my good friends, Andy Massar, whom I connected with on PBNation.com, a paintball forum. Yeah, pretty random huh? Regardless of the hows or whys, I’m glad this force that brings us all together exists because without it too many automotive gems would not get the proper exposure they deserve and missing out on this 740whp s4 would be unfortunate to say the least. Enjoy your Saturday night.
Photo’s by: Andy Massar
-Brian Earl Spilner
Slow and Slutty…
The Chevrolet Cobalt SS was one of GM’s entries in the world of sport compacts. With it’s Eaton supercharged 2.0L Ecotec 4 cylinder it certainly had the numbers to compete. The suspension was tuned on the famed Nürburgring in Germany. So it was safe to say it had it’s roots planted firmly in the motorsports world. Enter Mike Cosentino, a Long Island native that decided to make his Cobalt SS a little different.
Mike had a vision in mind that strayed far from the path of the average Cobalt owner. He fancied the fitment game and wanted in. There would be obstacles but nothing a creative mind and garage full of tools couldn’t tackle.
Using a set of ep3 Civic coilovers that were given to him by a friend he retrofitted the fronts and the project was underway. The Cobalt uses a solid beam for the rear suspension setup. Mike fabricated his own shims and dialed in his camber and toe by himself to get that rear fitment. He also shaped the rear fenders by himself in the driveway. Combine those two DIY mods with the addition of a mini-tub, he was able to fit the 18×9.5 -8(after adapter) Rota P45R in the rear.
Getting the front on the ground wasn’t exactly a picnic either. While the retrofitted coils allowed him to drop the front relatively easily the suspension was not happy. After going through a few axles Mike realized something had to be done to relieve the driveline of its geometrical woes. A custom lower motor mount and well as a rotated transmission mount were fabricated to solve this problem. This made for a much smoother and not so costly driving experience.
At the end of the day Mike is just another car guy doing his own thing. His build may not be everyone’s cup of tea but it is his pride and joy. Blood, sweat and tears have been poured into it via countless hours in the garage. I applaud his DIY approach and this car definitely falls under the moniker of Built not Bought.
View the full set HERE.
-Brian
Track’d Integra
Insert wordy literary piece about how much I appreciate this car and something unrelated that has happened to me or will happen.
FRENCH
please don’t insert a comment about the wing. Yes, I know the car is FWD but it is used to neutralize steering, derp.
DooDoo Brown…
Mike Wasserman’s Porsche Macadamia Metallic bugeye has been one of my personal favorites for quite some time now. I was able to grab a few shots of it at this past weekend’s Island Import Day. I look forward to getting a real shoot in of it sooner than later. Take a gander at these for now.
-Brian
Designer STi.
Throughout the past year my life honestly pulled a hard reverse entry 180 degree turn. Relationships ended, new friendships began, business opportunities presented themselves, I’ve managed to do some traveling, but more importantly than anything else I’ve grown and matured as a person. I’ve put myself in a position to succeed and unlike a year ago I’m 110% concentrated on myself. I have an entirely new spreadsheet filled with goals and while no definite plans are written down in order to achieve them, the foundation is in place and regardless of the path I decide to follow I’ve never been so confident in my ability to reach the point where I see myself in 5, 10 or even 15 years.
I wouldn’t say my basic operating system or morals have changed much but instead I’d say the past year has been more of a mental awaking or dose of reality which looking back on now, I really needed. I used to be a bit naive and perhaps believed the phrase “Ignorance is Bliss” a bit too much but the reality is, being ignorant is idiotic. If the facts of a situation are laid out right in front of you and instead of looking at them you’d rather turn away with nothing more than a glance because you think you know better, well than you’re sadly mistaken. That’s something I’ll be the first to admit doing, but by making that mistake I found the meaning of a phrase that we’ve all heard a million times, the one that goes something along the lines of “You need to make mistakes to learn”. Well I’ve learned.. A lot.
I’m not going to create a laundry list of life lessons that I’ve been taught over the past year, nor am I claiming to posses some kind of ultimate wisdom, but I am saying that focusing on yourself without the influence out outside persons can really help you find things within yourself that you never knew existed. I shut myself down emotionally in an attempt to figure out who I truly was as an individual and show myself the appreciation I deserve and by doing so I’ve come to realize that if someone isn’t benefiting you each and every day than they’re simply not worth keeping around and if you’re taking resources that would be better off being used on yourself and instead putting them towards somebody else out of kindness without any sort of appreciation you really need to change the way you do business.
IvyLeagueEast has been a way for me to express myself via automobiles and technology and this scene is something that I’ll be apart of until the day I leave Earth. Working on, bleeding for and slaving over my STi has been an amazing outlet for me and while I’d love to be able to track it every weekend and turn it into a dedicated, agile, time attack bullet, there isn’t too many things I feel I’ve succeed with more than the progress my STi has made in such a short amount of time. I never thought it would get to this point and while it may seem insane to some to compare modifying a vehicle with living your life, it’s as clear as day for me. It has shown me that hard work, dedication and the will to always keep pressing forward in every aspect of your life in order to make sure that your goal is reached pays significant dividends and anything is possible if you commit without having to rely on another’s commitment.
While my current STi paints a picture of how my young life has grown over the past year, the CanJam built Versace STi is where I see my life going. This car is like nothing else on the planet and while the comparison from a stock STi to mine is extreme you can’t ever become stagnant. Always have step by step goals that keep you motivated and working but be sure to make sure there is always something higher and harder to achieve. That’s what my key to success has become.
Goodluck!
-spilner
Holla Dolla.
Ignore the title. It was the first thing that popped into my head. I can’t really say why. It’s not that I don’t want to, I really just don’t know. The work day is nearing it’s end and I am feeling anxious.
I met up with Mr. Amodei yesterday to get some more shots of the Saab. After a little episode at the camera shop we were on our way to the top of a local university’s parking garage. The fact that they were now charging for entrance to said parking garage seemed to irk Chris quite a bit. I manned up and payed the 2 bucks. 
Once we were up there Chris got to his thing. Then there was me with nothing else to do, so I started snapping some shots on my own of the freshly painted S2000. Whenever I leave the house I always seem to forget something. Whether it’s my sunglasses or that bagged lunch I actually prepare the night before to take to work. This time I forgot my tripod. Basically that’s my excuse for only getting a few shots. It was getting dark and I don’t have the steadiest hands. Anyway here are a couple I snapped. Check the rest in a set on my Flickr.
-Brian
Stay classy.
A little while back I had a pretty funny conversation with one of my childhood friends, Keith Tano, when I received a text about his interest in older gen m5′s, specifically stancing one. I was a bit caught off guard because an e39 m5 is something I had been contemplating picking up for quite some time in order to retire my STi from its’ daily driven lifestyle and turn it into an all out track-prepped race car. That night I began to take a closer look into these cars and after some research I’ve come to find out that while you’ll run into some typical problems as with any 10 year old German car, they’re pretty reliable as long as you take care of the routine maintenance. There are deals to be had, even on relativity low mileage ones, and their great sounding v8 still packs a pretty legitimate punch when you let your right foot hit the floor. The body lines are timeless and with some mildly aggressive wheels it can be argued that they’re the best looking m5 ever made. With the winter fast approaching, it might just be time to start shopping.
P.S. Make sure you like Keith and his music on FaceBook HERE.
-Brian Earl Spilner
I guess..
While I still can’t say I love the 2k11 sti’s, this one looks pretty good I guess.. Just ditch that wing!
-spilner
About time……
The past 3 weeks of my life have been totally stressful. Before doing all the work, I thought doing a color change on an S2000 wouldn’t be that bad……………FALSE!!!! Not that it was terrible.. but it’s a serious amount of work. But in the end, it all paid off!! Also picked up a set of XD-9′s and went about an inch lower than I was on the old wheels…. Stay tuned for the full shoot/feature!!
-Chris Amodei-
Needs Moar Low
Amodeo’s (or C. Amodei to some) new haircut has me trolling the interweb looking at pictures of slammed cars. There is something about tucking tire and scraping pavement that is awesome to me. It doesn’t matter what type of car, or truck, (or vehicle for that matter…shit, slammed ATV? bauce) it is. Sure we can argue about function vs. form. Sure I’ve never had a car that low, and probably won’t as long as I live where I do (ask anyone about my driveway- it’s intense). But there’s no denying it: If it’s low, it has swag.
-E
ya’ll know what I’m talkin about:
East Coast Bash!
It was a GREAT time. Even though the ride there and back wasn’t the best time I’ve ever had (shitty roads in a slammed 350z) we had a great time!! There was a lot of great cars and drivers. I really give credit to everyone that participated and give credit to Club Loose for hosting such a great event!! And while I baked in the sun getting covered in rubber on the side of the track, Brian was on the other side of the park at the 1/4 mile races. Here’s what I came up with! Enjoy!
Click here for the rest of the set!!!
-Chris Amodei-
Click HERE for the rest of the set!!
They call it “Vintage Style”….
While browsing the S2000 forums, I came across this gorgeous MR2, and just fell in love with it. Synth19 Photo & Mike Maravilla did a great job with the photos and video of this car! Hope you enjoy it as much as I did… Click HERE for the write up from JDM Chicago!!!
-Chris Amodei-
Wicked!!
This past Saturday Spilner and I headed up north to Wicked Big Meet…..at 4am, but made some awesome time! Had to stop once on I-84 to re-fill the E-85, and knocked out (maybe killed) a little squirrel with Spilner’s front lip…. but after that, things went smooth. Here’s the shots I got and make sure you check out my Flickr for the rest of the photos!!
-Chris Amodei-
Click here for the full set!!!
And sorry to the kid that I iced!! But you took it like a champ, even though it was baking in the sun for a bit….
WTB… eh not really
My recent venture into the world of surfing has left me with a problem… the board doesnt fit in my WRX. With that said, the though of selling the suby and buying a Jeep or something similar has come to mind PSH !! JUST KIDDING. However I do need a way to get this thing to the beach and back without relying on friends with trucks. My only option is obviously a roof rack :/ However, the thought of a roof rack on anything but a VW bothers my brain, although I do feel my car has enough swag right now to perhaps distract people from the eye sore that is a yakima or thule fairing… questions, comments, concerns,pictures of awesome WRXS with rook racks ? Get at me.
-Dirty
Island Import car show!
Spilner and I attended the Island Import show today. The Arthus showed up a bit late, but showed his face. Unfortunately the weather didn’t really want to cooperate with us, but at least the rain held off.. Very nice turnout with a bunch of nice cars. EEM was there as well with their nicely done VW’s and Audi’s. Here’s my coverage from today! Enjoy!!
Click here for the full set!!!
-Chris Amodei-
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